UNIT 1 - Class task

State 5 things you would expect to see in a horror film:

-          A series of murders/unfortunate events

-          Darkness, most of film set at night or in a dark room

-          Blood or injuries

-          Adrenaline rush

-          Ominous music

Every different media product has its own conventions such as those seen above, this comes alongside the genre of its content.

Mise-en-Scene – everything featured in a shot

All audio visual media products are encoded to create a preferred reading (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience.

The means that media products are purposefully put together using micro elements (denotation) to create a representation (connotation) for the audience to understand. One micro element that is encoded to create meaning/representation in music videos/film trailers, films, TV programmes, video games is Mise-en-scene.

1. Location 

2. Costume/make up 

3. Props 

4. Colours/ lighting 

5. Gestures 

C: content and D: Meaning   

 

MISE EN SCENE 

This means ‘everything within the frame’. 





Genre dictates what the Mise-en-scene will be within any film

This is England is a social realist text/drama



ENCODED MEANS SPECIFICALLY PUT IN FOR EFFECT

Location are encoded to create verisimilitude/be aspirational to the audience

VERISIMILITUDE MEANS REALISM

1.       WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COSTUME AND CLOTHES?

Costume is something that you wear for effect and has encoded meaning that is specific to a genre, clothes are something that everybody wears in day to day life that is a reflection of personality.

2.       WHAT IS THE WORD PROP SHORT FOR/MEAN?

Prop is short for properties; this is what the characters/actors use in a media text.

ICONOGRAPHY MEANS THE KEY ELEMENTS OF LOCATION THAT IDENTIFY A PARTICULAR TIME PERIOD OR PLACE.

Iconography or ‘icons’ are items that create stereotypical representations that become well known and recognised. This can create ideologies. 



What iconography do you expect to see in horror and sci-fi films?

Horror films                                                                       sci-fi

-          Isolated place/town                                               - other worldly things

-          Woods                                                                   - outer space

-          Old interior                                                            - silver

DYSTOPIA- a bad place

UTOPIA – an ideal place

Ideology – a value or belief system (way of life), the way things should be.

Colours are encoded to connote moods/ emotions. What are the stereotypical colours used in:? 

1. Rom coms – red, white, black, silver, blue (sunny or dimly lit rooms)

2. Hip hop videos – black, gold, bright colours

3. Social realism films – grey, tan, yellow, brown



Protagonist – good main character

Antagonist – enemy or bad character portrayed in a bad light



MISE EN SCENE: COLOURS AND LIGHTING 

 

There are two types of lighting that are used to reinforce genre styles/ emotions/ verisimilitude for the audience: 

1.      Low key lighting (social realist films, horror)

2.      High key/ natural lighting (rom com)

The connotations of low key lighting are mystery and danger for example in horror films there are often antagonist characters that hide in the shadows or low lighting causing problems or harm. The darkness signifies that someone is going to harm that character.

High key lighting is encoded when the scene/location is bright and well lit. 

What are the connotations/ representations that are created using this type of lighting? 

  

Connotations of this music video would suggest that California girls are happy and that they are living in utopia. There is also the stereotypical suggestion that all girls are sweet and are sexual objects.

This process is deconstructing media texts.



MISE EN SCENE: GESTURES 

 

Gestures refer to body movements of a character. They are used to connote: 

1. Gender stereotypes 

For example, in the Batman films, Christian Bale strides around with a suave dominant lifestyle. This would be an ideal male lifestyle.

Within this Mise-en-scene the main character is being portrayed as wise due to the connotations of the props that are being used, for example the raft denotes that Piscine is a wise man who has a vast skills set. The scene features high key lighting which is juxtaposed by the expression on the face of the protagonist, however knowing the storyline of the film lets us say that the high key lighting is used for the idea that this is utopia unbeknownst to him. The tiger in the boat being the only form of Antagonist in the film is effectively representing this due to the way it is looking at piscine as a threat, the fact that the depth of field puts Richard Parker out of focus elaborates on the fact that this is a surreal scene. In this particular scene Richard Parker seems to be the more dominant character, which is further elaborated in the colours piscine is wearing as they are quite neutral.





MISE EN SCENE: GENDER REPRESENTATIONS 



John Berger (1972) in the ‘Ways of Seeing’ documentary states: 

“Men act and women appear”. 

Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. Women are aware of being seen by a male spectator.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? 



Women appear in the media as sex objects more than men do, there is also a sense that women are objectified and their sole purpose in the film is to solidify a man’s role and make him more successful.



 MISE EN SCENE: GENDER 

REPRESENTATIONS 

Women are often seen as sexual objects in media texts but men appear strong. Laura Mulvey (1975) suggested that women are objectified in media texts, which she calls the male gaze.  

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EXAMPLES? 

 On the video game GTA women are portrayed as sex object or prostitutes. On the loading screen of the game a woman is featured in a bikini with a lollipop in her mouth which would imply she is there solely to please the male audience.